The Prelude
by HawkPen
Summary: The Team is lured into a trap and shot down over a Venomian controlled planet. Political prospect forces corruption and an assassin into an army affair. A Venomian leader and a pirate ally to take out the Star Fox team once and for all.
1. Preface

Preface

"Orders from the General, mate!" The resounding and booming voice of the brigadier's faithful aide bounced off the walls of his quiet office. "I'll have the flagship up and ready for your departure!" The peppy duck set a device on the brigadier's desk. The device had the dimensions of the average clipboard. The peacock took the device from his desk into his hands and scanned it.

"Are you sure these are my orders?" the brigadier asked.

"Of course. General Pepper ordered me to personally deliver them to you."

"But he knows you're my aide, right? These orders are for me. Are you absolutely sure?" the brigadier asked again.

"Yes! Why are you indignant?"

"Read them for yourself," the brigadier hissed, passing the device, called a data ream, to his assistant.

"But that would be a breach of protocol!"

"Not like you're not used to it!"

At this, the duck paused for a few moments. He sighed, defeated. "You're right, of course. What's Brigadier Sleer's newest assignment?"

"Something definitely not worth the attention of a brigadier, as you shall soon see," Sleer scoffed.

"Hmm. It seems you're setting up the forward outpost for an attack. That's a great honor, on the contrary."

"For a major! A brigadier should never be reduced to such pathetic groundwork! It's… insulting to someone of my position! You know what you can do," Sleer said, beckoning the duck towards him, data ream in hand.

"What could I do for you?"

"You could pass this off to that fiery captain. What's her name? Celria? Yes, Celria. She'd be just fine at this sort of thing."

"Well, I would," the duck said, sliding the data ream back. "However, these orders are yours personally, and General Pepper has already cleared your ship for takeoff. Have a nice flight, sir."

XXX

The three menacing silhouettes loomed in the dimly lit room, carrying assault rifles. A calculating green eye ran through the sights of the pistol and fired. Each silhouette disappeared. Seven more took the places, each coming seconds after the other. Just as their predecessors, they dropped moments after appearing. A final one appeared, hugging the wall. The trigger was tapped once. Nothing. Again, nothing.

"Crap!" Fox cursed, hitting the simulator abort button. "I had this energy pack recharged before I started! What happened?"

"I may have replaced it," Falco answered, scoring two roundhouse kicks on his punching bag.

"And, hypothetically, why would you do that?" Fox asked.

"Well, hypothetically, it might have something to do with a certain gift left in my Arwing," Falco answered.

"Well, that was for what you hypothetically did to the coffee machine!" Fox replied.

"And that was for what you hypothetically did to my apartment!"

"I have a very strange feeling that you stopped being hypothetical three minutes ago," Krystal retorted, walking in on their fight.

"Hypothetically, we might be fighting over hypothetical things," Fox teased.

"Knock it off," Krystal snapped.

"Of course. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, ma'am?" Fox asked, mock bowing.

"Stop it!" Krystal half yelled, half chuckled at Fox and his awful accent.

"So, this is a random visit?" Falco asked.

"Of course not. Peppy has an incoming call on the bridge. He sounded pretty stressed about the caller," Krystal stated.

"Interesting," Falco added.

"Indeed. Tell Peppy we're on our way. Falco is going to clean up the range, and I'm going to fix my weapon!"

Fox took only a few moments before he ambled into the Great Fox's command bridge. It was a simple room with dark carpeting. There were two short rows of movie theater-like chairs positioned straight in front of a large screen. There were a few other screens, as well as a desk on each side of the room. The right desk was filled with scattered data reams, and Peppy sat behind the massive clutter. The left desk had less clutter, but more pieces of equipment, all being carefully observed by ROB-64.

Fox walked in front of the rows of chairs and leaned against the bar in front of the rows. Slippy was already sitting in a chair, waiting. Krystal and Falco took seats next to Slippy.

"All right, ROB, bring it up," Fox ordered.

"We have tracked the transmission to the capital city on the planet Eladard," ROB announced.

"The transmission was marked as a distress signal," Peppy added.

"Was there a message, or just a marking?" Fox asked.

"Just the marking. This message had to hop through a lot of satellites to reach us," Peppy said.

"Then it's a good thing there's a wide network of communication satellites, right?" Slippy asked rhetorically.

"Sure. Is there any merit to this distress signal?" Fox asked.

"Do you know anyone on Eladard? After all, someone's going through a lot of trouble to send you a distress signal," Peppy said.

"I can't think of anyone that would do this," Fox replied.

"Well, Eladard has been bearing the brunt of Venomian attacks. It could be that the army needs our help," Krystal suggested.

"Then why wouldn't General Pepper just ask as to go to Eladard?" Falco countered.

"Falco's right. I think this is just a random transmission," Fox said with finality.

"I would hold that thought if I were you. We've got a second distress signal, with identical information. Identical in every respect, except this one's using an army channel. Some soldier must really need our help," Peppy announced.

"Fine. ROB, set our course to Eladard," Fox ordered.

"Course set. I will call ahead to the Orbital Gate and see if we cannot ascertain a warp," ROB said.

"That would cut a few hours off our travel time!" Fox added.

"Yeah. Let's hope it happens," Krystal said, smiling.

"I'm not a gypsy or anything, but I do see a tiny flaw in this plan. Eladard is under Venomian control. Where will we land?" Falco asked.

"We could always call the army and ask if they have a covert base somewhere," Slippy suggested.

"Or we could just wait and see what happens. If we run into trouble, we could just shoot it down," Falco added.

"Score one for common sense and one for stupidity," Krystal snapped.

"Which one was logical and which one was stupid?" Falco asked.

"I want you to guess that for yourself," Krystal whispered.

"ROB, SITREP," Fox ordered.

"We have been granted access to an orbital gate. ETA is five minutes to launch, 120 minutes to arrive," ROB replied in his mechanical monotone.

"Two hours? That's awesome!" Krystal exclaimed.

XXX

A ferret in a cloak entered Eladard's most despicable club, known for its criminal company. He walked straight past the dancing poles and ugly Venomian soldiers that had no shame when it came to their sexual desires. The club's dance floor was empty and there was no music, but the dim, neon lights seemed to beg all gathered to dance. The ferret didn't seem to care about any of this.

He advanced to the club's second story, which had assorted booths and an open center, allowing a scenic view of the dance floor, bar, and dancing poles. The ferret took his seat opposite an equally obscured figure, who wore a cloak and a wide-brimmed hat, hindering any signs of a face.

"So. What's new?" the ferret asked the figure in a grim, quiet tone.

"I've gathered some intel on the target, if you're interested," a high-pitched, female voice asked. There was a slight hint of a mechanical tone in the voice. The ferret reasoned that a male animal sat before him, using voice-changing technology to further obscure his identity.

"I'm already in deep with my own cover. Your intel would have to be very good to be something I don't already know," the ferret argued.

"My sources took this straight from the DOE," the figure said, a hint of pride in her voice.

"You'll have to forgive me. My isolation from the Lylat world is very deep and lengthy," the ferret apologized.

"The Lylat Department of Espionage. High caliber organization, very good at what they do. Woe to anyone under their assassination microscope," she answsered.

"Woe to anyone in the scope of my sniper rifle," the ferret replied.

"Of course. My sources said good things about you," she said.

"Where is this intel?" the ferret asked, clearly trying to rush the conversation.

"I suppose you want to get back to work, right?" the voice asked.

"You suppose correctly."

"Well, I should have you know that the urgency has been stepped up considerably. I need the job done by the end of the week, or else. Of course, the pay would be multiplied considerably, due to the short notice," she said, sipping a drink.

"Multiplied by what?"

"Three? Five? You'll find I'm very flexible with the finances here."

"You make a lot of promises. Make sure you can keep them," the ferret whispered, and held out his hand. The figured plopped a data drive into the ferret's hand. "Finally. Now, if there's nothing else?"

"You're free to go."

The ferret exited the club quickly, analyzing the data drive his employer had given him. The employer shut down his voice changer and answered an incoming transmission. "What do you want?" he hissed.

"Brigadier Sleer, where the hell are you?" a soldier asked.

"Don't take that tone. If that's all you want, I highly suggest you fly yourself back to Corneria before I send you there on discharge!"

"You don't have grounds for a discharge, so you'd better cut the crap right now. Besides, General Pepper just sent in orders for his forward post."

"Tell Celria to take care of it," Sleer hissed.

"This _is_ Celria," Celria replied.

"Fine then, take care of it! These new recruits just can't follow orders!" Sleer growled.

"I've been with you for a year," Celria stated.

"Just shut up and wait for me!" Sleer wailed, terminating the transmission.

"I never get tired of listening to that arrogant brat whine," Celria said, smiling to a soldier next to her.

"Neither do I, Captain," the soldier said to the fox.

"ETA to Eladard airspace is five minutes and counting," ROB announced.

"Thanks, ROB," Fox said. "Slippy, you've had plenty of time. Brief me."

"Of course. ROB, if I could please use that workstation," Slippy said. ROB moved aside and Slippy typed on some keys. Then, an image of Eladard appeared on the bridge's center screen. "You see, this is the planet Eladard."

"Do we ooh and aah now, or after the presentation?" Falco asked.

"Shut up, Falco!" Slippy hissed, entering some commands on the computer before him. The onscreen image zoomed to a topographical picture of a city. "This is the capital city."

"Ooh," Falco exclaimed. Krystal elbowed him.

"Now, because of missile threats Andross recently issued, the DOE suspects that missiles are being constructed in factories here, under the governor's supervision. We can also suspect that there is a DOE presence and possibly an army forward base on the planet or soon to be on the planet. On that note, we can go in quietly by Arwing and land here, in this field. Of course, as we do this, I'll be jamming scanners in the capital."

Then, sirens sounded in the bridge.

"ROB, SITREP!" Fox shouted.

"The radar has detected an inbound Scorpion Cruise Missile fired from the planet's surface," ROB announced.

"Begin jamming procedures!" Slippy cried.

"Everyone to emergency positions," Fox ordered.

"It seems we flew into a trap," Peppy said.

"Peppy, detach the orbital ring from the ship and send it back!" Fox ordered.

"Detaching."

"Slippy, I need good news here!" Fox shouted.

"I have no idea where the missile was fired from, so I can't look for a remote control radar unit or anything!"

"Anti missile discharge?" Falco suggested.

"Fling our trash in the way? We did that and I didn't get a chance to refill the discharge chutes!" Slippy yelled.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Fox ordered.

"The Scorpions have advanced targeting computers and radars onboard!"

"Put some distance between us and the missile and then unload the cannons!" Krystal suggested.

"I'm trying! ROB, do you have a missile launch source yet?" Slippy asked.

"I am hacking the missile's onboard targeting computer to divert its flight course," ROB replied.

"Slippy, effects of collision?" Fox asked.

"A collision with the Fox's armor would cause considerable damage to the hull. A collision with any external systems would completely destroy them. A collision with the engines would ground us immediately," Slippy replied.

"Collision unavoidable. Emergency protocol recommended," ROB said.

"Shit!" Fox screamed. Then, the missile struck one of the engine turbines, caught fire, and the Great Fox began a crash course toward Eladard.


	2. Crash Land

Crash Land

The Great Fox's engine turbine fumed as it entered Eladard's atmosphere off the Scorpion's direct hit. A fire in the port side of the ship only grew larger as the damaged ship plummeted toward a field on the planet's surface. It only took a few seconds for the violent collision to end. The starboard side slammed into the ground barreling down and shoving up dirt. Metal plates bent and fell into the dirt below. The cannons on the ship snapped off like twigs and landed in the dirt. The soil seemed so weak that the Fox would fall to the planet's core. By the time it had stopped, it was halfway submerged into the dirt. It was extensively damaged.

Fox had taken cover in the bridge, under the chairs. He rose from his position and surveyed the damage to the bridge. ROB and his desk seemed undamaged. The large center screen had fallen off and shattered, the frame snapped in several pieces. The window was also shattered, with several plates bent around it, obstructing the view. Bits of glass and metal were scattered haphazardly around the bridge.

"ROB, are you okay?" Fox asked.

"I am fine," ROB answered.

"Run a diagnostic and give me a SITREP as soon as you can. I need to know what's damaged," Fox ordered.

"Initial examinations suggest extensive hull breaches near the docking bay area," ROB announced.

"Where did the missile hit?" Fox asked.

"I am not sure, but it appears to have impacted the hull near the left engine turbine," ROB replied.

"We should've been fishtailing into the atmosphere," Fox stated.

"Most of the electrical systems have been damaged. The diagnostic will take several hours," ROB told him.

Fox swore under his breath and turned towards Peppy's desk, where Peppy had taken cover. The clutter that had been there previously was now scattered onto the surrounding floor. The desk itself had also slammed against the wall behind it, dangerously close to the window. The computer previously occupying the desk was resting against some of the metal plating blocking the window. Fox realized that Peppy could easily have fallen out of the ship during the crash.

"Peppy! Are you in there? Are you all right?" Fox asked, running towards the desk. He shoved the desk aside and looked through the broken metal. He sifted through the piles of broken material.

"Peppy?" Fox called again, more worried this time. He was nowhere to be found.

"Fox? Is that you?" a voice wheezed.

"Peppy! You're alive!" Fox shouted.

"Yes, let's dwell on that for now, for that may change in a minute," Peppy said, coughing.

Fox ran towards the door that led out of the bridge. When he was only a few centimeters away, he found Peppy lying behind the chairs.

"How'd you get all the way over here?" Fox asked.

"I guess I wasn't as safe as I thought I was. I remember crouching under my desk, and then I just remember coming to here. I must've flown quite a ways, eh?" Peppy guessed.

"I'm still amazed you're in one piece, which is more than can be said for your desk," Fox informed him.

"Heh. Guess that old piece of junk had to break eventually," Peppy reasoned.

Fox surveyed the greater situation now, a little more at ease to know Peppy had made it out alive. One of the chairs nearby had specks of blood, and Peppy's leg was bleeding, the blood running around his leg and pooling on the floor beneath him. Peppy also had noticeable bruises and cuts on his back and forehead.

"How do you feel? You look like hell," Fox said.

"I feel how I look, I suppose," Peppy answered. "This leg is definitely broken, and I have a headache bigger than Andross's ego."

"Well damn. That's a big headache," Fox said.

"You're telling me," Peppy wheezed. "There sure is a lot of dust and dirt around here."

"Now that you mention it, there is." Fox noticed that there was a mountain of dirt immediately near the broken window. As one moved away from the window, the dirt became less and less. The topsoil the Fox had broken through must've come in through the open window, Fox reasoned.

"You'd better go make sure everyone else is all right. I'll be right here. Not like I'm going anywhere on these legs."

"True," Fox replied. With the electrical systems down, the doors would be shut as if they were dead bolted. One of the doors was still attached, but the other one was damaged. The bottom half was still securely attached, but the top was bent out. Fox hopped over the door, surveying the hallway.

There was no light beyond five meters in either direction. Some of the walls had collapsed, blocking and shrinking different parts of the hallway. Fox turned on his flashlight and moved to his right, towards the shooting range. He reasoned that it would be an adequate shelter in the event of a collision.

He moved through the dark wreckage to the door. Not only was this door completely shut and intact, but the ceiling and parts of the wall leaned against it, blocking it off.

"Is anyone in the range?" Fox shouted. "I can't get through the door! Is anyone in there?"

Behind him, he heard glass shatter. He spun around and drew his weapon, a basic instinct instilled in students at the Cornerian Flight Academy.

"Slippy, you scared the crap out of me!" Fox yelled, observing his wounded companion.

"Yeah, well, you're spontaneous shout didn't help much either," Slippy argued.

"Don't you have a flashlight?" Fox asked.

"It fell off my belt. I was in the holding area, and I think it got wedged into a cell. I had to feel my way around the ship, which wasn't easy," Slippy said.

"Are you all right?" Fox asked, noticing that Slippy was holding his shoulder.

"For the most part. When we hit the ground, I flew into the table. There are probably some splinters in my shoulder."

"I can see some bloodstains," Fox told him. "Do you know where anyone else is?"

"Falco took cover in the range, and Krystal said she was going to the docking bay when I asked her," Slippy informed him.

"Thanks. You see the light over there?" Fox asked.

"The really faint one, yeah."

"That's the bridge. Peppy and ROB are in there. It should be safe enough to hide out in for now, until we regroup," Fox said.

"Thanks so much!" Slippy said.

"There's plenty of light in there, too. Help ROB with the diagnostics, if at all possible. He said it would take awhile with the electrical systems out."

"Not for two people," Slippy said.

"Excellent." Fox recalled ROB's words in sudden horror. _Initial examinations suggest extensive hull breaches near the docking bay area._

"Falco! Are you in the range?" Fox shouted.

"Fox, is that you? My flashlight is dying!" Falco called.

"I'm on the other side of the door. It's wedged. There's no way I can break the door down. There's too much leaning against it," Fox told him.

"Well that's too bad. Part of the ceiling is blocking that door anyway," Falco yelled.

"Dammit! Can you see a way out?" Fox asked.

"It looks like I'm stuck in here, man!" Falco replied.

"Are you sure?" Fox asked.

"It looks like the wall might've broken down, but I'll have to shift the furniture over there to find out!" Falco answered.

"You do that, and if you can't, you'll need to start shooting your way out. I can't get to you! Are you all right?" Fox asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. Nothing feels broken, if that's what ya mean. I did slam against a wall, but it's nothing serious."

"Good. Once you get out, go to the bridge. Peppy, Slippy, and ROB should be waiting for you there. Do you happen to know where Krystal went for cover?" Fox asked.

"She said she was going to the squad room, but she changed her mind and went to the docking bay," Falco answered.

"Ah, shit!" Fox charged towards the docking bay at maximum speed. He had never been so frantic in his life. Of course, the only other time he'd seen the Great Fox crash, it exploded completely. He hadn't been onboard at the time. Now, he had to worry about everyone and everything in the wreck. At least he hadn't been injured in the crash.

He turned down the hallway leading to the docking bay. The largest doors in the entire ship were the doors in the docking bay, and they were almost perfectly intact. The hallway itself was filled with dirt and caved-in wall and ceiling. He had to move carefully through the wreckage, climbing through piles of metal here and there. He found a large pole had rammed into the doors at the top, forming a small crevice. The doors wouldn't budge, and Fox knew this.

First, he tried to use his blaster to break through the doors. He used every setting and charge, but the doors remained intact. Then, he futilely tried to kick and ram the doors down. His franticness was clouding his common sense.

He sat in front of the doors for a few moments, catching his breath. He looked at the cold, gray metal that stood between him and Krystal. He decided he would climb up the wreckage and through the hole at the top of the doors. So, he grabbed on and started to ascend the pole on all fours, moving slowly to keep his foothold and dodging random ceiling parts and metal. Once he was only a few meters from his destination, the Fox began to shake.

"We must be sinking even further into the soil!" Fox reasoned aloud. The Fox began to shake and move, tilting in such a way that the engines were almost sticking up and the docking bay was almost straight down. The wreckage also moved, ramming into the doors and breaking through them. Fox climbed into the docking bay.

The sight horrified him. In the docking bay, the team's Arwings were arranged in this order: Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Krystal, from left to right. His Arwing was completely crushed by metal rubble. Falco's Arwing was crushed against the launch door. Slippy's Arwing seemed almost fine, except that its left wing was broken off. Krystal's Arwing appeared intact, although it slumped against the launch doors.

The only place to take shelter in the docking bay was on the inside of an Arwing. Fox walked carefully to Krystal's Arwing. He climbed onto it and stood over the cockpit. It had slammed against the launch doors. The glass had a clear crack and Krystal was out cold, some dried blood from her forehead around her face. She had hit her head on the cockpit glass with such force from the crash that she had cracked it and bled.

Fox punched the cockpit in right over the center of the cracks. The glass shattered and fell into the Arwing. Fox pulled Krystal out of the wreckage and stepped onto the floor, laying her body on the ground.

"Krystal, wake up! Are you all right?" Fox asked, feeling her pulse. It was still there, but she was completely unconscious. She showed no sign of waking up, so Fox was forced to carry her to the bridge.

When he finally reached the bridge, he saw that the entire team had assembled themselves. Slippy was typing away at a console with ROB, and Falco was sitting next to Peppy in the row of chairs. Fox laid Krystal's unconscious body in a chair and took the one next to her, holding her hand and whispering, begging her to wake up.

"Slippy, do you guys have a SITREP for me yet?" Fox asked.

"Affirmative. The ship's hull has sustained 65 percent damage, with the majority of the damage concentrated to the ship's bow. The electrical systems are shot, as well as the ship's life support, radars, and communication systems. We need to get out of here. Maybe we can salvage some stuff, but we have to get help," Slippy said.

"We'll call the army when we've reached safety. We can't let any intel onboard fall to the Venomians. ROB, take care of it. We'll be back for the ship soon," Fox ordered.

"Roger," ROB replied.

"Fox? What happened?" a faint voice asked.

"Krystal! You're awake!" Fox cried.

"Yeah. What happened to me? Why do I have blood on my face?" Krystal groaned, still waking up. She was only slightly coherent.

"When the Fox crashed, your head slammed into the cockpit and you became unconscious. Some shards must've lodged in your head, and you shattered the cockpit," Fox said.

"Damn, that must've really hurt," Krystal groaned.

"Probably."

"I got out of the range fine, thanks for asking," Falco snapped. "And I can carry Peppy all by myself when we get out of here. Again, thanks for asking."

"Glad to hear it. Guys, let's get ready to jump," Fox said.

The team moved toward the window, shocked to find that, due to the sinking of the ship, the window was relatively close to the ground. It was a small hop to safety for everyone. The relief of the moment was quickly shattered when Slippy opened his mouth.

"Horizon. We've got company!" Slippy stuttered, pointing.

"Oh, shit!" Falco cursed. Two tanks were barreling towards the Great Fox. The tanks were spread out over the plain, and the space between them was filled with Venomian soldiers.

"Run. Abandon the ship. We have no choice," Fox ordered.

"We can take 'em!" Falco grumbled.

"We could take the land troops easily. It's those tanks that worry me. That, and the forces will only get bigger from here. This is a scouting party sent to investigate the wreckage. They want to see if they have any kills. Then, this plain will be crawling with troops while they move the Fox," Fox said.

"All the more reason to stay! We have to know what happens to our ship!" Falco challenged.

"Something this big doesn't just disappear. We'll find it again," Peppy said quietly from Falco's shoulders.

"He's right. We can't just stay here!" Slippy agreed.

"Two klicks!" Krystal shouted.

"This way!" Fox ordered, running in the opposite direction of the soldiers. The team made decent timing before entering a part of a town that was run down with old, battered buildings. They entered the building closest to them.

The inside was dark, with only candles in the corners. In the middle was a large billboard, dominated by the floor plans to some unknown building. There were massive scribbling, circles, and labeling throughout the plan.

"Guys. This building may not be as abandoned as it seems," Slippy whispered.

"Look at the architecture. Did anyone notice the doors coming in? I think this is a religious chapel," Krystal whispered.

"Mmf!" Falco shouted, muffled. A hand was clasped over his mouth, and a knife to his throat. He was held at bay by a cloaked figure.

"What is your purpose?" the figure rasped.

"Krystal, proceed with caution," Fox whispered. He decided to leave this tense situation to someone that was skilled in dealing with matters of the mind.

"Right. We don't want to harm you or this place, if it has any religious significance. In fact, we're open to leaving right now, as long as it's with our friend," Krystal said, slowly.

"Who are you allied with?" the figure asked.

"We're the Star Fox team," Krystal said.

The figure paused before replying with surprise, "You are? Really? You're all a lot younger than I expected you would be. Then that means you must be James, right?" the figure asked, looking towards Fox. The figure removed his hood and revealed he was a ferret. He had a tinge of white on his muzzle, but the remainder was chocolate in color. His voice was akin to his fur in coarseness.

"You think I'm James McCloud?" Fox asked the ferret.

"You are the Star Fox team," the ferret stated.

"James McCloud has been dead for 20 years," Fox said, incredulous.

"Is that so?" the ferret asked.

"I'm his son, Fox," Fox announced.

"Interesting. Oh, of course, apologies," he said to Falco, replacing the knife and pushing Falco into Krystal's outstretched arms.

"Damn right you are," Falco whispered.

"I apologize, Fox. My isolation from Corneria has been long-standing. What news reaches here is always Venomian propaganda. I was skeptical when I heard of James's death," the ferret recalled.

"What's your name, isolated ferret?" Fox asked, curiosity and interest growing about the ferret before him.

He paused before saying quietly and clearly, "Scythe Varez."

Slippy, who had been snooping, approached Fox and whispered, "You should see the banking logs I found in a corner. Whatever this guy does, it can't be legal."

"That's because it's not," Scythe answered calmly.

"Male hooking? You seem like the type," Falco hissed.

"Assassination," Scythe answered, still quite calm.

"That was my second guess," Falco defended.

"Of course. So, what brings you around to the south? Nobody comes to this part of Eladard. It's mostly a scrap yard for condemned buildings and broken machinery," Scythe asked.

"We were hoping to hook up with a Lylat Army forward base, if you happened to know where it is," Fox told him.

"We were shot down in the atmosphere," Slippy added.

"It's your lucky day. Word's spreading around to the locals to get out of town. The city is going to be raided tonight by Lylat forces," Scythe said.

"That's awesome! Do you know where they are?" Krystal asked.

"A whole new garrison of troops doesn't sneak into this city without someone noticing. I can find the base for you," Scythe promised.

"You're on assignment, aren't you?" Krystal asked.

"What makes you guess that?" Scythe challenged.

Krystal pointed around the chapel. "Nothing's packed. You don't look like you're leaving town. Raiding a building?" She pointed to the blueprints fixed to the billboard.

"Observant. I like that," Scythe snickered. "You are correct. I have been hired to end the governor's term a bit early."

"Be careful. If the army already told civilians to get out, they won't think twice about shooting you if you're around the palace," Krystal cautioned.

"It will take all of five seconds before there is no palace. Don't worry about it. So, if I'm going to take you to this base, I'm going to need a favor," he replied.

"Over our dead bodies," Falco whispered.

"What kind of favor?" Fox asked.

"A lift out of this hellhole," Scythe pleaded.

Fox leaned into Krystal's ear. "Can we trust him?"

"We don't have a choice if we want to get to that army base," she replied.

"What if his job is to assassinate us?" Fox asked.

"Then he would've done it already," Krystal decided.

"We have a deal," Fox said, shaking Scythe's hand. _We don't have much choice anyway._


	3. Haven

Haven

Tensions seemed to ease in the small chapel when the deal was made. Krystal felt sure that they could trust Scythe, or at least keep him close enough to monitor him. The Team's reputation made Scythe relax a little, but he kept his guard up. After all, famous teams like the Star Fox team would attract some trouble.

"If you want it, there's some tea around here somewhere. I'm going to ask a few questions for you, and go from there. I'll be back in a minute." Scythe crept out silently, leaving the team alone.

"Why'd you trust him? He had a knife to me!" Falco complained.

"It was Krystal's fault," Fox said quickly.

"Fox! Don't pin this on me, I don't make the final call!" Krystal yelled.

"Look, Falco. It was a command decision. How many times have you ever been to Eladard?" Fox asked.

"A few times, I suppose," Falco growled, going along with Fox.

"We don't know what we're up against, and I have few options right now. Plus, if the situations were reversed, you'd have a gun to his head," Fox said.

"Natural protective instinct. You can't blame him," Krystal added.

"Whatever." Falco began to snoop around, looking through the financial records Slippy had found. "This guy is definitely professional. Look at this. He must've done at least 5 hits on Eladard."

"Or he had a good clientele," Krystal suggested.

"I wonder where he was trained," Peppy wondered.

"No wonder he wants to get out of here. After 5 jobs, someone must be getting close to him," Krystal speculated.

"This is definitely _not_ a housewarming object," Slippy said, looking behind some small boxes.

"What is it?" Fox asked, walking over to him. On the floor was an expensive, high quality sniper rifle. The barrel, scope, stock, and bipod were all lying in a small, black pile. There was a carrying case nearby.

"That's a rather old rifle, isn't it?" Slippy asked Fox.

"Looks like it," Fox said, looking over Slippy's shoulder.

"Anything useful in these floor plans?" Falco asked, puzzled at what he was seeing.

"I don't understand them," Krystal said, scratching her head.

"This is a Lylat Army issue rifle, but it's at least ten years old," Fox revealed, calling on his weapons expertise. "He's probably been to Corneria."

"God knows how long he's been stranded on this planet. From his manner, it seems like he's been isolated for a truly long time," Krystal reasoned.

"Holy crap, that's not a scented candle!" Slippy shouted.

"What?" Fox asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Geez, Fox! That's a lot of explosives!" Krystal shouted, scared.

"Relax, Fox. They're breaching charges," Falco sighed.

"People, let's not be paranoid. Just because Scythe is a killer doesn't mean everything in this chapel is built to kill us."

"Probably true," Peppy agreed.

"I guess not everything can be high-tech. Look, this was behind the charges." Falco held up a faded, tattered chemistry set. "This looks like it was left over from a Cornerian high school."

"It was. Let me know when you see a million credits' worth of chemicals in the garbage," Scythe snickered from the doorway.

"That was fast," Peppy commented.

"If your army was half as good as they think they are, they'd have undermined the Venomians by now. I can take you to the army base," Scythe said with a hint of arrogance.

"Good. We want to move ASAP if possible," Fox stated.

"The Venomians usually start the city's curfew around now. We should be able to dodge patrols, but you don't want to get caught. Patrols are tight in the capital, and if a soldier thinks he sees something, the whole garrison is shooting it in seconds," Scythe said.

"Let's not try and start a firefight," Slippy chuckled.

"Agreed," Krystal mused.

"Shall we go?" Falco asked, about to hoist Peppy.

"Krystal, can you help Falco carry? I want Peppy to be comfortable, but I would like to move fast as well," Fox asked.

"I suppose," Krystal said, complying to Fox's request and helping Falco. They heaved the old hare so that he appeared to be on a stretcher.

"If this is how you're carrying me, move quickly," he grunted. "I'd rather sleep on these rocks!"

Honoring Peppy's request, the group exited the chapel. The dark beams of an almost set sun illuminated the gray clouds in the sky. The air was like soup on Eladard. The planet was filled with factories of all sorts. Most residential areas had large air purifiers, but they only filtered so much of the haze. Because of the thick, hazy air, and the sunset, the entire scene was illuminated with a light fog. Multitudes of lights from the city ahead made the twilight all the more eerie. The intermingling of the lights sent shivers through the entire team.

"You see that building over there?" Scythe asked the team, pointing to a tall, round building with a flat, circular roof.

"Yeah. It's hard to miss. It's one of the tallest in the city," Fox answered.

"It's also one of the most important. It's the communications center for the planet. Everything revolves around that building. The Venomian army garrison operates out of that building. That's ground zero. Anyone who knows anything knows to stay away from there. The guards are zealous in keeping that building secure. The army outpost is half a klick from here, and it uses the old rail station as a headquarters. We'll follow the tracks as closely as we can. Their ships have a good view of the tracks. We're screwed if we walk on them. Stay close and follow my lead. Try not to shoot anything unless you have to," Scythe ordered.

The roads in the capital of Eladard were infamous for being tight and cramped. This made is much easier to slip through the city undetected. Various alleys and back roads intertwined in a maze only navigable by those who had lived in the city for a length of time. The streets were almost completely empty; atypical for a city with such a high population. Krystal assumed most of the locals had left in accordance with the army's warning. That still couldn't eliminate the uneasy feeling that pounded in her head.

As they proceeded through the maze of streets and alleys, they came across a large, fenced field, dotted with structures and unrecognizable hunks of metal.

"Is that a shipyard?" Peppy asked.

"The only for miles. You said you crash landed, right?" Scythe asked.

"It wasn't a complete wreck. It was salvageable," Fox whispered.

"Then it's in there, somewhere. They keep all enemy ships prisoner there," Scythe said.

"We'll get it out of there. Soon," Krystal assured an uneasy Fox.

"I know. Believe me, we're getting it back. How easy would it be to infiltrate the shipyard?" Fox asked Scythe.

"Now that I'm not sure about. I've never really had a need to go in there. I know it's not heavy on foot patrols, but there's a cannon grid and some security cameras. I've heard infiltration is difficult, but an old colleague managed to snag me some blueprints after their security overhaul. If you need a way in, we can find one," Scythe offered.

"It's going to take more than that. We're not going anywhere without our ship," Falco growled.

"Meaning I'm not getting my ride, am I?" Scythe asked.

"Nope. Definitely not," Slippy replied.

"I'll have a look at the blueprints for you," Scythe stated. "We're almost there. You see that building over there? That's the center of the old rail system. The Lylat army is gathered there. I have work to do. We'll meet again soon." Scythe slipped back into Eladard's maze of streets. Uncertainty clung to the team, tight like clothing in the greatest of humidity. Had Scythe really led them to the base? Or worse, was it a trap? They were all thinking the same thing, and it was Krystal who broke the ice.

"It's not possible. The Venomians couldn't have known we were coming, not like this. There's no way Scythe works for them," she asserted.

"You'd better hope you're right. We're banking a hell of a lot on your guesswork," Falco growled.

"This isn't guesswork, it's science," Krystal defended.

"Whatever. Science is tangible. This is-"

"Going nowhere. Let's go. If it's a trap, the best thing we can do is spring it. With the Fox under heavy guard, we've got little left to lose anyway," Fox decided. "You two, stay here with Peppy. Slippy and I will move forward."

Slippy had no chance to protest as Fox peered into the street that separated him from his destination. Seeing no Venomian soldiers, he bolted to the other side, dodging next to a building and pressing against it for cover. He motioned for Slippy to follow. Slippy dashed across the dirt street and crouched behind Fox, clutching his pistol tightly. Fox ambled forward very slowly, eyeing the sky for Venomian patrol ships. With the sky rapidly growing dark, they were sure to have scanners sweeping the ground for anyone breaking curfew. This area of town was dimly lit anyway, making it high traffic for illegal nighttime activities.

"It's certainly quiet. Let's move up a little," Fox whispered. To their left was a clearing, probably some local park of sorts. To their right were a series of houses, built from Eladard's vast metal resources. Down this alleyway, about 230 meters, was a dilapidated, decrepit depot.

"Wow. That building definitely looks like a safety hazard," Slippy whispered. It was at that point that the door to the house opened. Several soldiers, armed with rifles, stormed out and flanked Fox and Slippy.

"Hands!" one of them ordered. Fox and Slippy slowly complied. "Wait a minute. Fox?"

"What's going on?" Krystal asked from the alley.

"It looks like things are calming down," Peppy observed.

"Guys! We're clear!" Fox shouted across to the alley. Krystal and Falco carried Peppy across the street, where they were introduced to Lylat soldiers who used the house as a checkpoint.

XXX

The Star Fox Team was escorted through dank, dimly lit base. The entire base seemed tense, ready for action. Soldiers stood along the walls, checking every part of their rifles. Some were shooting on the range. Everyone was cleaning and loading energy packs into their pistols. Some were wrestling, practicing hand to hand and close quarter fighting.

The escort stopped short of a small office and pointed inside. Fox stepped in to see a familiar brigadier's face.

"Brigadier. How nice to see you here," Fox said, faking a smile.

He slowly spun around in his chair until he faced them. "It figures the Star Fox Team would fall into my lap. You have to ruin every operation, don't you? I should have some soldiers keep you locked up until the fighting is over, just to keep your precious asses safe," Brigadier Sleer suggested.

"Victrith. No matter how far we run from Corneria, we can't get the slime off our shoes," Krystal mused.

"Your petty insults are amusing as always," Sleer said, faking a snide chuckle.

"Can the condescension, Sleaze ball. We aren't too keen on helping you anyway," Fox hissed.

"It looks like you could use _my_ help! You look tired, Peppy obviously can't walk, Krystal's face is covered in dried blood, and Falco has been holding his arm since you walked in this room!" Sleer yelled.

"Then why send a distress signal?" Fox asked.

"We never sent a distress signal. Why would we? The Venomians control Eladard's satellite network, and months of covert planning would go down the drain. It sounds like you were conned. Fools, running headlong into a trap!" Sleer began to cackle.

"Then you've got a major problem, because it was a Lylat Army SOS signal," Slippy countered. "Better tell General Pepper you let a hacker into the communications array!"

"If I were you, I would stick to using that tongue to catch flies, lest you lose it!" Sleer hissed.

It was silent for a few moments, moments that felt like hours. Krystal, reluctant to show the team's vulnerability, broke the silence.

"Victrith, it's obvious we foolishly walked into a trap. Perhaps you could just send us to a medic, and we promise we would stay out of your way," Krystal said, batting her eyelashes.

"I suppose I can pull a field medic from tonight's assault. Ridiculous that I should have to have soldiers babysit you!" Sleer stormed out to find a medic. Peppy noticed a map of the city on the wall and pointed it out.

"We shouldn't be completely wasteful of Victrith Sleer's hospitality, now, should we?" Peppy asked.

"Why, of course. His entire battle plan is right here, look!" Fox pointed out.

"Find the shipyard!" Krystal suggested.

"There," Falco pointed.

"This is a good battle plan. He wants to draw all attention from the comms building by attacking the palace. Then, he'll attack the shipyard and take the comms building last," Fox observed.

"I sure would like to be there when they take the shipyard, eh?" Falco suggested.

"Oh, you bet. You think if Sleer gets hold of the shipyard that we'll see the Fox again?" Krystal asked.

"No way in hell," Fox agreed.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Krystal asked.

"We're gonna beat 'em there, of course!" Falco shouted.

"And here's some help with that," Scythe said from behind them. He had in his hand a data ream.

"What is that?" Fox asked.

"Some intel on the shipyard. You know, blueprints, employees, security weak points. I just called in a small favor. That, and don't forget, I want my ride out of here," Scythe reminded them, smiling.

"Tonight, my friend. Tonight you'll get to see Corneria again," Fox told him.

"I like the sound of that. Tonight. Tonight," the ferret echoed.


	4. Back on the Streets

Back on the Streets

"You won't have a lot of time once the raid starts, so you'll want to give the Venomians hell," Scythe explained, bringing up a hologram of the shipyard. "I strongly believe in explosives. I think if you planted charges here and here, and used two breaching teams, you'll have security thinking you're a larger force than you actually are."

"I don't want them knowing they're getting attacked by four people," Fox agreed.

"You'll need to find some breaching charges. I don't have any on hand, sadly," Scythe said.

"We'll borrow some from the Army. They won't mind," Krystal whispered, smiling.

"Ha! Of course. When we get in, how will we find the Fox?" Falco asked.

"Well, it can't be that hard to find a ship that size in a shipyard so small. I'm going to try hacking the security feed beforehand. Actually, if you guys keep Sleer busy for awhile, I'll just use his computer," Slippy said, stepping behind Sleer's desk. He started typing furiously.

"You sound like you're waging a war over there," Fox mused.

"Funny," Slippy retorted.

It was a few minutes of near silence before Sleer came back. He saw Scythe, who had not been there before, and his eyes widened a little.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"Relax. He's with us," Fox said quickly.

"Because I need more of you," he snapped. "At least I don't have to call security. Fox, over here a minute." Sleer motioned with his finger for Fox to come. Fox scowled and walked slowly.

"Yes?" Fox asked.

"Who is that thing?" Sleer asked, annoyed.

"His name is Scythe, and he's with us. I'll vouch for him," Fox whispered.

"Of course you will." The brigadier rolled his eyes. "So, Mr. Varez, what is your business here?"

Scythe shifted a little, not entirely sure how to respond. "I think I was just leaving, _sir_."

"Damn right you were. I dislike little sneaks," Sleer groaned.

"You're a very… cordial… person," Scythe said. "Happy to meet _you_," he said sarcastically.

"_I_ am not. I've much at stake tonight, and I do not need unauthorized personnel crawling around here." He turned his head away from Scythe and pretended he was not there.

During this time, Slippy had continued his hacking breached the system. "I'm in! Turns out the shipyard security system hasn't been updated since the day it was installed, so I slipped a worm through their firewall. I have live feeds from every camera in the building. I'm sweeping them for the ship."

"Can you hit 'em when we make the raid?" Fox asked.

"No doubt. My worm is sitting, waiting for a command. I can have the entire system down in five minutes. The only thing I'm not sure about is how fast they'll notice. They'll be running blind for at least twenty minutes if their security is average."

"And if they have another hacker?" Falco asked.

"You'll have a safety net of anywhere from five to ten minutes before security measures are reinstated," Slippy warned.

"The shipyard is critical to my attack plan," Sleer growled. "You won't jeopardize that, will you?"

"You want to attack the palace to draw security, then take the shipyard and the comms building. All we're asking is for you to ignore the shipyard," Fox pleaded.

"You think I won't return your ship?" Sleer asked.

"That sums it up," Falco snorted.

"There's not going to _be_ a palace when you start your assault!" Scythe commented.

"What do you mean?" Sleer asked, getting annoyed.

"You'll see when the time comes. Stay away from the palace though. I've got it covered!" Scythe started walking away as he finished his last sentence.

Sleer sighed loudly, pondering his options. "The men have already been briefed on the plan, you see. It's far too late to change it and develop a new one. You'll just have to sit on the sidelines," Sleer ordered.

XXX

The Star Fox Team was put in a room in the back of the temporary base, guarded by two soldiers.

"Are we really going to stay in here?" Krystal asked.

"No. We'll get out of here before then, and steal some explosives," Fox added.

"When?" Peppy, having been quiet for some time. "I want you to leave me in the infirmary. I'm not waiting until Corneria to get treatment. I'm old!"

"All right, guys, I'll get us moving." Fox called for the guards outside the door and asked them to escort Peppy to the infirmary. Instead of doing this, they pulled aside a soldier and made him do it. Fox hadn't expected the guards to leave so easily anyway.

"How's your head, Krystal?" Fox asked, looking at the bandage concealing her cuts and bruise.

"It's fine, I guess. I'm still a little lightheaded if I stand too fast or too long," she said, sitting down and leaning against the wall.

"Pretend it isn't, if you please," Fox said, smiling.

Krystal paused for a moment while Fox and Falco got on either side of the door. Slippy sat down next to Krystal and put his arm around her, to make it look like he was comforting her. Fox nodded his head as Krystal shrieked, "God! My head! What's in this freaking air?"

The guards walked in as she moaned in pain for a moment. Fox put his guard in an immediate headlock and stepped behind his knee, shoving him to the ground. Before he could squeal, he lost consciousness. Falco locked his arm around his guard's neck and punched him twice: once in the stomach and once in the face. The guards fell into an unconscious pile on the ground.

"That was easy," Falco said, smirking.

"It usually is," Slippy added.

XXX

The team had little trouble leaving the base. Everyone knew them, but nobody knew they weren't supposed to leave. When Fox asked a soldier for a breaching charge, he was all too happy to give him one. The Army was appreciative of the team's work.

Once they were on the street, however, things were completely different. It was now the dead of night, and security was high. Venomian soldiers roamed the streets, and dozens of patrol ships flew overhead. The city lights seemed to reach every corner. The team ducked in an alleyway but had no opportunity to move. The city was heavily patrolled.

"We need some kind of a distraction," Slippy whispered.

"We're not splitting up. It's too dangerous. None of us could outrun these patrols anyway. 12 scout ships would have lasers on you in seconds," Fox whispered.

"We're going to be sitting here all night," Krystal whispered, constantly pushing her blue hair back.

"The second the Army crawls out for their attack, they'll be crushed," Falco whispered, fidgeting with his reflector.

"The sad part is, that's distraction we could use," Fox whispered.

Then, with absolutely no warning at all, the palace caught on fire.


End file.
